Tech giants Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are betting big on the Spanish town of Zaragoza, investing billions in data centers there. While jobs boom, concerns grow over environmental impact and low taxes.

Zaragoza

Zaragoza, traditionally known for agriculture and logistics, is attracting significant investment from major American tech companies such as Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, with plans to spend over 30 billion euros on new data centers. Local authorities highlight the region's abundant renewable energy resources and available land as key factors behind this influx, emphasizing the potential for high-quality job creation and economic development.

However, concerns have emerged regarding the actual benefits for the local population. While tech startups like Origen are expanding and creating jobs, the data centers themselves require minimal staffing once operational. Environmental groups and local experts have raised issues about the secrecy of the companies, their limited tax contributions, and the potential strain on local water resources, especially in relation to agriculture. Calls have been made for greater transparency and public awareness about the long-term impacts of these developments.

Are Big Tech data centers a curse or blessing for Zaragoza?

Zaragoza. The Romans and the Moors settled here. These days it's the Americans. Except they're not building churches or palaces, but giant industrial plants. The local government here is beyond excited. This is good news, very important good news. This past year has brought more investment than any other year before. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and some others want to invest more than 30 billion euros in a region that is otherwise known for agriculture and some logistics hubs. But why? In order to get cheap electricity it's best to use renewables like wind and solar. And here we have both wind and solar and lots of buildable space. And we're also easy to reach. Even though the server farms indeed use a lot of electricity, government and businesses here are seeing many advantages for the region, not least with regards to the job market. What we're really getting is investment, bringing high-quality, well-paid jobs. One example, Origen in Zaragoza. Their startup helps clients optimize business structures with the help of AI. They're also in the field of genetic analysis. For all that, the company is relying heavily on Amazon's servers. For genetic analysis, every person has 200 gigabyte of information. Now to compare one person's DNA to others, we need to compare their 200 gigabytes with lots of other 200 gigabytes. And that takes a lot of storage. Companies like Origen are expanding and creating jobs. Likely many more than all the data centers in the area themselves. Those, once built, employ very little personnel, especially when compared to the massive investment. This recent meeting on Zaragoza's new business was organized by an environmental group. They had tried to peek behind the curtain, a difficult undertaking, as the American companies are extremely secretive. And for good reason. According to a local tax expert, they barely pay any taxes in the region, a fact that shocked attendees. We don't know what's really coming at us. I don't think the politicians know what all this means for us. There are many unanswered questions. How much water does the server farm need to cool their servers? What does it mean for agriculture in the region? These recent measures here are shameful. Instead of letting farmers do their job, the government is now telling them that they have to ration water. And how to do it? The environmental group wants to better inform the public about the cloud businesses set up in their neighborhood and what side effects they might have.

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